Virtual Infinity
by Acidika
Summary: With the release of a new VRMMORPG, Sword Art Online, a hospitalized girl takes charge of her rapidly fading life by trying the game out. She had no idea what she would be getting into, and must fight for her life - literally! - inside a digital prison with the help of a player named Kirito. Rated T for language, violence, and some sexual content. Story was originally by Mio-san.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is the original story, the part that Mio-san started writing, but lost her interest in writing the story as a whole. She graciously gave me ownership of the story, and gave me this chapter to add for the sake of story flow.**

**Anything written after this chapter is my own work, this is simply the original segment that many people - myself included - grew to enjoy. Without further ado, I herby present to you, Virtual Infinity, originally by Mio-san, but now it is mine.**

**Link Start!**

11:45 a.m.

The IV was inserted carefully into her wrist, trailing from the thin mattress to sit on the sterile white floor before slanting upwards into the large, gray machine. It was an unattractive thing, stationary in the corner of the room, emitting soft beeping noises. Data trailed slowly across its screen, measuring heart rate, pulse, and other vitals. It was the first and only proof of life in the near-silent room.

Her eyes stared blankly, unblinkingly, at the screen in front of her. It was her only outlet to the outside world, and not a desirable one at that. But because of her condition, she was confined to a room without windows, and a single door that unlocked only for the staff. A stack of books rested on the nightstand beside her, and a plate of untouched food was perched on top of them. But she neglected them all, preferring to instead watch the television mounted on the wall, even if its volume was non-existent. It gave her a reason to escape from the bleak present.

On the screen, a reporter appeared with a headline scrolling below her. Newly Released Virtual Reality Game A Hit, it said. With the slightest hint of interest, her bony hand reached for the remote and unmuted the volume, ignoring the painful ringing in her ears at the burst of sound. The reporter was standing on the sidewalk and chatting with someone standing in a long line of people, trailing down the street and rounding the corner. "Sure, the lines can be pretty bad," the interviewee was saying, "but it's so worth it! I mean, who doesn't want the hottest game around? This is my first VMMORPG, and I already bought the NerveGear! It's gonna be awesome!"

The girl tilted her head quizzically as the reporter went on to explain that VMMORPG stood for Virtual Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game, a new advancement in virtual technology. The game in question was a recently released Virtual Reality game from Kayaba Akhiko, considered an innovative genius in this field. The Virtual Reality games, the reporter said, worked involving another new technology known as NerveGear, which simulated all five senses to create a human avatar in a virtual world, where one could escape into a game and experience the thrills of a different reality.

Es cape ?

She reached for the button on the side of her bed and pressed down on it, once, then twice. The door swung open and a nurse walked in, eyes widening when she saw the unmuted television. "Is there something you need?" she asked with false cheeriness, reaching for the remote.

The girl clutched the remote, unwilling to relinquish it, and pointed to the reporter, who was still talking about virtual reality. The nurse frowned, confused, then laughed. "Oh, I see. You want to try out those new videogames? I'm sorry, I'll have to veto that. You should be resting. It won't be good for you to engage in such a thing."

With more insistence, the girl pointed at the reporter again and made a tiny sound of defiance.

"The answer is no," said the nurse firmly. "I'm sorry." She left the room after stopping to check the IV machine, which had begun beeping with a slightly increased tempo.

Eyes glossing over, the girl let the remote fall to the ground with a clatter. Her shoulders sagged in disappointment and she slid into a laying position, ignoring the reporter's amiable voice, now discussing the pros and cons of virtual reality. Of course, she wouldn't be allowed. The nurses refused to say so, but she knew that her days were limited, and something such as this would only speed the process. Why let her enjoy what remained of her life when she could live it out confined to a hospital bed? she thought bitterly.

The emotion of bitterness surprised her. She didn't express herself often anymore, but it was rather pleasant, even if the emotion was negative. As it shot through her mind, she almost smiled.

Then, her bitterness was replaced by a fierce determination. She had been through too much already to give up like this. Narrowing her eyes, she reached for the button and pressed it once more, silently praying that he would answer the call this time. After all, there were only two nurses at the nurses' station, and if Nurse Aida had come the first time, that meant that this time she would probably send

"Hey, there." The door opened once again, and Ron poked his head around its metal edge, grinning at her. "You okay? I saw you already buzzed us before."

The girl nodded, then pointed at the television.

"Hmm?" He walked over and sat on the edge of her bed, shooting a quick glance at the IV machine. "All okay over here. What'd you want?"

She pointed at the television again, where the reporter was wrapping up her story, and tried to force an urgent look on her face. Ron recoiled. "Yikes! Okay, okay. You want the remote or something? Where'd that little sucker go "

While he was kneeling on the floor, peering under the bed, she slammed her fist on the bed with all the force she could muster and tried to croak out the words that had abandoned her. Sadly, all that emerged was a sound not unlike the death chorus of a frog.

Ron jumped, and something jolted the metal frame of her bed. "Ow! God, what's with you today?" he moaned, getting up with the remote in hand. "You usually know better than to " His eyes fell onto the screen, where the reporter was still talking about the game, and something clicked. "You wanna try out those new virtual reality games?"

She nodded enthusiastically.

Ron squirmed, visually uncomfortable. "Gee, I dunno. I mean, they're kinda dangerous for you they can do brain damage and stuff. Plus, the NerveGear is a little risky. And you've gotta "

He paused, spotting the look on her face. "Is that what Aida told you, too?"

She nodded again, this time with an expression of disappointment or what passed for such a thing.

"Ah, well, I " Ron trailed off and rubbed the back of his head. "Aida wouldn't like it. Nope, she definitely wouldn't like it "

Her spirit fell. So much for determination.

" but, what the heck, live while you're young, right?" Ron smiled at her wide eyes. "After all, as long as Aida doesn't find out, no harm, no foul! But first, we gotta figure out how to get that NerveGear not to mention the game itself "

He pulled out a small phone and tapped something out on its screen. A few moments passed. The girl's throat tightened with anxiety.

Ron suddenly blanched, staring down at the display on his phone. "Holy crap."

The girl poked his arm with a thin finger, as if asking, what is it?

"It's just " Ron swallowed hard. "That's a lot of zeroes. Crap, that's a lot of zeroes."

There was silence once more as the girl's spirits fell yet again. She should have known that price would present an obstacle.

Ron noticed her moping and tried to smile. "Hey, don't worry. I'm sure if I dip into my bank account I can afford this. I have a job, remember?" He tugged at his uniform.

The girl tried for an expression of doubt, asking, Do you really want to do this?

He interpreted her expression and smiled again, a real smile this time. "Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry about it! By this time tomorrow you'll be entering the world of Sword " He broke off as the girl tugged on his sleeve. "What is it?"

She pointed at the TV.

"Oh the opening's this afternoon, huh?"

The girl nodded.

"And you want to be there at the opening?"

She nodded again.

"Dang " Ron sighed and looked at his watch. "Looks like my lunch break is in ten minutes I could run out and try to get it for you in that time."

The girl bounced a little, and Ron laughed. "Okay, I get it. One set of NerveGear coming up. Just don't tell Aida!"

He bounded from the room, and the girl thought to herself that his request was a rather ridiculous one, as she was physically incapable of doing so.

12:58 p.m.

The girl had grown steadily restless, moving about more than she had in quite a long time. It had been almost an hour since Ron had left, and she had continued to watch the broadcast during his absence, despite it having moved on to different topics.

Finally, the door swung open, and the girl twitched, whipping her head around as fast as she could (which was definitely lacking speed). Ron was standing in the doorway, with a coat flung over his nurse's uniform and a large plastic bag in his hand. His black hair was frazzled, like it had been electrocuted. "God!" he sighed, slouching into the girl's room. "Those otaku people are crazy! I was nearly trampled to death trying to get the stuff."

The girl made a fist and scowled. Did you get it or not?

Ron held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, hey! Don't get all defensive! I got it, okay?" He held up the bag and the girl nearly went spastic in excitement, trembling everywhere. She reached for it and pulled out the game first, but promptly dropped it on the floor. Her hands were still shaking too much to hold anything.

Her friend smiled at her and picked up the game, setting it on the nightstand. Next he pulled out the NerveGear, which was a sleek black helmet with several other cords and complex-looking technology. "Okay, looks like we have to move it around your body so it can calibrate your measurements I'll have to help you with that, I guess."

The girl made her best attempt at a smirk at his readiness.

Ron flushed. "Don't look at me like that, okay? I'm not shameless!"

She was still smirking. Yeah, right.

For the next ten minutes they went through the tedious task of calibrating the girl's body to the helmet. Ron helped her when her hands began to shake so that she couldn't hold it, preferring most of the time to stand a good distance away from the bed, red-faced and pretending to examine the instructions.

"I'm not shameless!" he muttered, whenever the girl stared at him with amusement in her eyes.

Finally, that was finished. Ron hooked up all of the necessary cords and pulled out the game. "Alrighty! Now that that's over with, we can get this up and running, huh?"

The girl poked him in the leg.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. We've gotta get it up and running before the opening. Don't worry, we've still got about fifteen minutes. Ready to put on the NerveGear?"

She bounced in her bed, excited. Ron mock-sighed and placed the helmet over her head, inserting the game into its disk port. "Okay. You know the rules. Log out by bedtime. And Aida can't know.

The helmet bobbed; it was slightly too big for the girl, so the visor covered most of her face. Ron stifled a laugh and rifled through the instructions. "Okay looks like you have to say 'Link start' to initiate the link oh."

The girl lifted the visor and stared at him despairingly.

"Don't worry!" he assured her, scanning the paper. "I'm sure there's a manual way somewhere "

Ron's face fell.

"Okay, maybe not."

What do we do? The girl widened her eyes.

Her friend thought. "Um oh, hey, got it! What if I say it close to the helmet?"

She nodded excitedly and put down the visor again. Ron lowered his face to the helmet until he was within a few inches of her, and said, loudly, "Link start!"

Nothing happened.

"Link start!"

Still nothing.

Ron's heart pounded, and he slammed his fist down onto the nightstand. "Dangit! Dangit "

The girl's hands were still, but he thought he spotted a shimmer behind the tinted visor. "Aw, no, no, don't get upset! We can figure this out! Don't worry " He sat on the bed and stroked her hair absently.

"L-lin "

"Hmm?" Ron turned to the AC in the corner to make sure it wasn't making funny sounds again. "You hear that?"

"Link start "

"Holy " Ron broke off. "Is that you?"

The girl mustered every bit of strength she had in her frail limbs and opened her mouth wide, the words wavering on cracked lips. "Link start!"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: From now on, this is my writing. But also, this is in SAO itself. I am also be primarily basing the whole story on the Light Novels, but I will be using the anime for my own references.**

**Now, let's get started...**

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><p>The moment that she forced the words past her lips, she immediately felt the hospital room vanish, only to be replaced by inky blackness. But before she could even begin to panic, she realized that she could see a blinding array of colours fast approaching her, almost as if she was travelling through a tunnel.<p>

When her vision cleared, she appeared to be standing - yes, she was standing! - in from of a floating blue panel. She looked up and saw a massive screen, displaying the words "Select your gender."

Selecting the obvious option, she chose Female. Why would she want to pretend to be a boy? The words changed at once.

"Please create your avatar."

Glancing down at the panel, she realized it was now a keyboard. She had to create a name for her avatar first.

Slowly inching her fingers closer to the keyboard, she hesitated as she considered a name. After a few moments she began to type the first name that entered her mind, then pressed the Accept prompt.

"Welcome, Black Rock Shooter, to Sword Art Online!"

The words above her changed, greeting her to the game. Next it was replaced with two options; Use Default... Customize.

Not sure with what to do, she chose Use Default. She felt a feeling on confidence, knowing that she could get into the game quicker since she opted to not customize... whatever it was. She didn't care, she wanted to play!

"Avatar complete! Now teleporting to Town of Beginnings!" The words barely registered in her mind before she was surrounded by blue light. She blinked, and the next thing she knew, she was no longer standing at the keyboard...

She was in the center of a crowd of people.

Staring in awe, she noticed a few things in her periphery vision. One, in the top left, was a long green bar, which also had the small numbers 300/300 beside it. She guessed that it meant her health. Also, there was a small clock in the bottom right of her vision, complete with the date, November 6th, Sunday, 2022.

Taking a deep breath, she realized that she actually had no idea what to do... at all. She turned when she saw a blue light, just like the one that brought her here, appearing beside her.

Moments later, a black haired boy appeared, then immediately took off running to the left. Instantly she started running after him, not even thinking.

A few moments later, he stopped when he realized she was following him. When he turned to face her, she realized that he was quite attractive.

"Can I help you?" He asked, his voice deeper than she'd expected.

"I... Uh..." She faltered, taken aback by his voice. But she quickly got over it and said. "I saw you run off, and I thought it was different, so I wanted to ask why... No, where you were going."

"To the weapons shop." He replied, sounding like it was obvious. "Is this your first time playing a V.R.M.M.O.R.P.G?" He asked suddenly, putting his hand on his hip.

"Yes." She replied, but then added. "How do you know that?"

"You keep getting distracted by your HP bar. I can see you're having some trouble with the HUD." He explained, then took a step forward. "The trick is to not lok at it directly, instead try using your peripheral vision instead." He held up his index finger. "Even though we are still at full HP, I can still read mine while I do this." He started moving his finger around, staring at it intently.

"Okay... Thanks. Um... is there a... uh..." She began to try remembering the word she wanted. "Tut... tutor..."

"Tutorial? No, there isn't. But I can teach you how to play, if you'd like." He held out his hand.

"Oh, okay! Thanks, um..." She realized she didn't know his name.

"Kirito." He smiled. "My name is Kirito, What's yours?"

"I'm Black Rock Shooter. Nice to meet you, Kirito." She took his hand, shaking it in a friendly way.

"That's quite the name. Now, follow me, first things first, we need weapons." Kirito altered his grip on her hand, leading her through the streets until they came to a stop beside a small shop.

"What other games have you played, if you don't mind me asking." Kirito asked as he opened the shop's door and pulled her inside.

"None. This is my first ever game." Black Rock Shooter replied, staring at the person behind the counter.

"Well, do you know anything about weapons?" Kirito asked, letting out a sigh.

"I know a little. Can you help me get a longsword?" Black Rock Shooter replied, slightly nervous about how he thought she was completely clueless. She knew some things... just not everything. She opted for a longsword since it seemed to be a middle ground weapon, not too fast, heavy, or weak. Balanced.

"Sure, no problem."

After selecting his sword from the shopkeeper, he completed the purchase and turned to Black Rock Shooter. "This is pretty basic, but it'll do to start out."

Once she completed her transaction - which surprised her, apparently she started with 1,000 Col, the game's currency - she realized that Kirito had somehow gotten his sword onto his back.

"How did you do that?" She asked, confused.

"You mean you don't... nevermind." Kirito shook his head slightly before explaining. "Put you fingers together like this." He pinched his index and thumb together. "Then swipe downwards, like this."

Immediately a small floating panel appeared in from of him. She imitated his action, and was rewarded with the same small panel, which seemed to be some sort of menu.

"Now what do I do?" She asked, looking back at him.

"Select Inventory. Just tap it with your finger." Kirito explained, nodding his head.

Pressing Inventory, she was met with a new panel, this time showing a picture of an opaque figure surrounded by a ring of small circles.

"Next, select the slot named Weapon. It should be on the right." Kirito pointed at her menu.

Selecting the circle, she was met with another menu, showing her Iron Longsword as the only option. She tapped it, and the sword appeared on her left hip, already in a sheath.

"Now, how do I get out of the menus?" Black Rock Shooter asked, smiling at her new weapon.

"Press the back arrow until it disappears." Kirito said as he tapped his menus a few times, then it disappeared.

Doing as he said, the menus retracted, then vanished. She smiled as he took a deep breath.

"Now what do we do?" She asked, feeling excited. She got the feeling that Kirito knew more about the game than it seemed, and he probably had a background of gaming anyway, unlike herself.

"We go get X.P." Kirito smile, then took her by the wrist. "Follow me, we're going outside of the town."

Several minutes later, they had finally left the town, and were strolling through lush green grassland. A moment later, Kirito pointed at blue creatures wandering around on top of a nearby hill.

"We'll start you off with those Boars, to see how you fight." He drew his sword off his back, and Black Rock Shooter hurriedly tugged hers out, but her hands were shaking as she held the long piece of metal in her hand.

"Go ahead, I'm right behind you." Kirito encouraged her, giving her a small pat on the back.

Gulping loudly, Black Rock Shooter forced herself to approach the Boars, her sword held in hand, the other shaking violently. If her sword had a longer grip, she would've held it with both hands to steady herself.

With a shrill cry, the nearest Boar snapped it's tusks and reared onto it's hind legs, an obvious sign of aggression. It then began to rush towards her, it's red eyes staring right at her.

Panicking, she jumped aside, then swung her sword at the Boar's flank, sinking the blade into it and leaving a red line across the blue. That must mean she'd hit it!

Glancing at the Boar's head, she saw that it had an HP bar, like she did. Her attack seemed to have dealt about 10% damage, so she readied herself for the next attack.

Swing itself around to face her again, the Boar had less running room, but gave another shriek as it snapped it's jaws at her.

Swinging her sword too late, she was hit in the stomach and knocked back a few feet, landing on her back. A quick glance at her HP revealed that she was now at 271/300, a little under 10% in damage.

Scrambling to her feet, she readied her sword again, holding it out widely to her side, her feet together, and her face full of concentration. When the Boar charged her again, shrieking louder than before, she swung her sword as she smoothly stepped to the side, carving another red streak into the Boar's body.

It fell onto it's side, sliding for a few feet before it suddenly shattered into nothingness, accompanied by the odd sound of shattering glass.

Instantly her menu appeared, detailing that she'd received 200 Col and an item called Lesser Healing Potion, as well as 50 experience points.

"Do I keep fighting, Kirito?" Black Rock Shooter asked, closing the window before turning to see Kirito smiling at her.

"Yup, we'll do this for a bit, then go back to town to sell any items we don't need. I'm impressed you used a Sword Skill already." Kirito approached her and indicated her sword hand. "Think you could do that last attack again? I've never seen that Sword Skill in the Beta tests."

"I just... started to focus." Black Rock Shooter explained. "It just happened... And what's a Beta test?"

Kirito smiled. "I got to test out the game for the company that made it. I reported any issues, played it like it should, basically I got an early version of the game, with permission to play it in secret from the public. It was really fun."

"Okay, I think I understand now." She smiled suddenly. "I'm gonna try that Skill again, okay?"

With a nod from Kirito, she turned to find another Boar, which was a dozen meters away, looking away from her. She confidently strode up to it, then repeated everything she'd done before doing her Sword Skill... feet together, sword out, concentrate...

The Boar suddenly turned around with a snorting sound, then reared to attack her. Sensing her moment, Black Rock Shooter took a step forward, swinging her sword at the Boar's exposed belly. When her blade entered her vision, she noticed that the metal surface was glowing with a pale blue light.

Surprisingly, her attack had killed the Boar in a single strike, it exploded into the same dust like effect and glass sound like the previous one.

"Again, I don't understand that move. It seems powerful, but it definitely wasn't in the Beta version of the game." Kirito remarked, having just killed his own Boar nearby. "Maybe you just got lucky and did the proper movements to start the skill." He suggested as he examined his rewards screen.

Glancing at her own screen, she got another 200 Col, 50 experience points, and surprisingly, three Boar Hides.

"What are Boar Hides?" She asked, pointing at her menu. Kirito approached and checked over her shoulder to see for himself.

"They're used in Crafting. If you get more, you can make Leather armour and items. Keep them for now, we can start farming for them later. For now, let's get some more X.P."

Assuming that X.P was gaming jargon for experience points, and 'farming' was what they were doing, she closed the menu and looked around for the next Boar.

Hours later, around 5:20pm, they had fought dozens and dozens of Boars, and Black Rock Shooter had managed to collect several Lesser Healing Potions, a few dozen Boar Hides, and about 7,000 Col and roughly 3,000 X.P. She felt proud of her accomplishments so far, considering that it was her first time ever playing a video game.

"Well, I guess we should start heading back to town, my inventory is almost full." Kirito sheathed his sword over his shoulder. Black Rock Shooter gave a nod, likewise sliding her sword into the sheath on her hip. Together they began to walk in the direction of the Town of Beginnings.

Halfway back, they were met with another player, wearing a bandana and wielding a curved sword, standing near a Boar spawn, accessing his menus. Suddenly he gawked in panic, then waved for them, hailing them loudly.

"Hey! Come here for a second! Quickly!"

They jogged up to him, curious. He pointed at his main menu screen, "The log out button is missing!"

"Impossible!" Kirito accessed his own menu, then frowned. "Yours too?" He glanced at Black Rock Shooter.

Accessing her menus herself, she glanced at the bottom of the list, one she'd seen before, but hadn't used. It was simply a blank tile, no title at all.

Shaking her head, she closed her menu and glanced at her HUD (Which Kirito explained was shortform for Head's Up Display) to check the time. It was 5:27pm.

"Maybe it's a bug... or a glitch..." The player suggested, stroking his chin thoughtfully. Judging by his words, Black Rock Shooter guessed that he was also an experienced gamer, like Kirito. She had no idea what a bug or glitch meant in gaming terms.

"We should contact a G.M, so that it can be fixed right away! I have dinner waiting for me I.R.L." The player spoke faster, and at a slightly raised pitch. "What do we do?!"

"The G.M's will probably be working on it as we speak, all we can do now is wait until they announce the repairs. Let's head back to town in the mean time."

"Is there another way to leave the game? Was there anything from the Beta tests?" Black Rock Shooter asked as they walked, which made the new player glance at Kirito at the mention of Beta tests.

"Nope. Only way was the missing log out button." Kirito replied without even turning around. "It's a new game, so there's still a few problems here and there. It'll be fixed, don't worry."

He sounded confident, but suddenly they were surrounded by the blue light that they remembered from their initial spawn in the Town of Beginnings. Black Rock Shooter instantly realized that none of them knew what was happening, not even Kirito.

"A forced Teleport?! What's going on?!" Kirito managed to speak before they were fully taken by the Teleportation.

**A/N: Let me know what you think, Reviews are appreciated, and one final big thank you to Mio-san! :D Without you, this story would have never been started, let alone created!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: A lot of the dialogue during this chapter is directly taken from the Light Novels (copy&pasta FTW! XD) Other than that, enjoy!**

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><p>When the Teleport finished, Black Rock Shooter, Kirito, and the new player reappeared in the midst of a massive crowd of players, each wearing confused and worried expressions.<p>

Nothing happened for several seconds, but then Kirito pointed up at the far end of the area, where a red message appeared in the sky. "System Announcement."

"Hey, maybe they fixed the bug!" The new guy beside them exclaimed in a hopeful tone.

None of them knew just how wrong he was.

Blood began seeping out of the words, slow and viscous, but it then began to form into a single shape. It started forming texture, and created what appeared to be a huge figure wearing hooded red robes.

Black Rock Shooter's eyes widened when she realized that the robes were empty! There was no face inside the hood, only the red fabric at the back!

"What's going on?!" Kirito stared at the empty hood in confusion.

Suddenly the... thing raised it's arms, revealing white gloved hands. Then a monotonous voice boomed from all around, silencing the chatter of the crowd instantaneously.

"Players, I welcome you all to my world."

Kirito's eyes went wide in shocked recognition, but he said nothing as the voice continued talking.

"My name is Kayaba Akihiko. Right now, I am the only person who can control this world."

...What?

Not a single sound was heard throughout the plaza, everyone was shocked by the revelation.

"I think that most of you have discovered the fact that the Log Out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug; it is all part of Sword Art Online's system." Kayaba Akihiko's business like voice continued as he lowered his arms back to his sides.

"Part of the... System?" Black Rock Shooter mumbled to herself, confused. A moment later, she realized that if it wasn't a bug, and he KNEW that... then it was put there intentionally...

"Until you get to the top of the castle, you cannot log out of your own free will." Kayaba Akihiko continued, silencing their chatter again. His voice sent a shroud of dread over every player's heart, a chilling and intimidating command to his flat tone. "Also, the disruption or dismantling of the Nerve Gear from the outside is strictly forbidden. If these things are attempted..."

He paused, likely for dramatic effect, then continued explaining. "The signal sensors in your Nerve Gear will emit a strong electromagnetic pulse, destroying your brain and stopping all of your basic functions."

"Wait... that means... it'll kill us!" The player beside Kirito and Black Rock Shooter concluded, terror on his face.

"Exactly, just like a microwave oven. It'll fry our brains almost instantly with that EMP." Kirito spoke in reply, still staring straight up at Kayaba Akihiko.

"What if there's a power outage?" Black Rock Shooter asked, blinking in confusion.

Kayaba started explaining, as if he had heard her.  
>"To be a little more specific, disconnection from an outside source of electricity for ten minutes, being cut off from the system for more than two hours, or any attempt to: unlock, dismantle, or destroy the Nerve Gear. If any of these conditions are met, the brain destruction sequence will start. These conditions have been made known to the government and the public through mass-media in the outside world. On that note, there have been several cases where the relatives or friends have ignored the warnings and tried to forcefully remove the Nerve Gear. The result..."<p>

The metallic voice took a short breath here.

"... regretfully 213 players have already exited this game, and the real world, forever."

213... 213 people were killed already. Out of approximately ten thousand total players trapped in the game, already over two hundred lost their lives...

somewhere in the crowd, a girl screamed, a high pitched, terrified shriek. Many people began shouting at Kayaba Akihiko, who silenced them yet again by continuing his speech.

"Players, there is no need to worry about the bodies you left on the other side. As of this moment, all TV, radio, and Internet media are repeatedly reporting this situation; including the fact that there have been numerous deaths. The danger of having your Nerve Gear taken off has already all but disappeared. In a moment, using the two hours I have provided, all of you will be transported to hospitals or similar institutes and be given the best treatment. So you can relax and concentrate on beating the game."

Black Rock Shooter glanced at her two companions, realizing that they were probably laying in bed at their homes. She was already at a hospital, so she had a two hour advantage over everyone else, not even Kirito's Beta test knowledge was of any use to him while he was taken to a hospital in the real world, unable to do anything in the game during the process. She formed a plan, that, once she got her chance, she would take Kirito and escape from the Town of Beginnings, to take full advantage of her two hours.

Players started shouting angrily, some shaking their fists at him, but he continued talking. "But I ask of you all to understand that Sword Art Online is no longer a simple game. It is a second reality . From now on, any form of revival in the game will no longer work. The moment your HP reaches 0, your avatar will be gone forever. And at the same time... your brain will be destroyed by the Nerve Gear."

Black Rock Shooter's jaw dropped, and her eyes immediately checked her remaining HP... 271/300. Then she felt the memory of the Boar's headbutt to her stomach. This was no longer just a game... It was a death game. If she died here... she died for real.

"Players, there is only one way to be freed from this game. As I have said before, you must get to the top of Aincrad, the one hundredth floor, and defeat the final boss that resides there. All players still alive at that time will be immediately logged out of the game. I give you all my word."

Black Rock Shooter snorted, she didn't believe his word, it wasn't even worth a glance to her. This man was insane, trapping ten thousand people inside his 'game' for no reason.

Waving his right hand, Kayaba Akihiko spoke in an emotionless voice. "Then I will show you evidence that this is the only reality. In your inventories, there will be a gift from me. Please confirm this."

The sounds of ten thousand inventories being opened rang out, and Black Rock Shooter scrolled through hers to find a new item, Hand Mirror.

Selecting it, a small rectangular mirror appeared in her hand. She stared at it intently, only seeing her avatar's curious expression.

Suddenly, everyone's body were surrounded by the blue light effect of a Teleport. But, nobody vanished, instead, EVERYONE's appearance changed drastically. Height, hair, body, even gender!

Turning to Kirito, Black Rock Shooter was immediately met by a much younger, and very confused version of her black haired companion. He turned to face her, and his brow furrowed.

"Black Rock Shooter?"

"Kirito?"

Both of them realized that their voices sounded younger... no, NORMAL. Even their hair's length changed. Kirito's formerly long hair had shortened slightly, and appeared more tidy.

Her black hair, however, was extremely long, but thankfully it was draped down her back and not blocking her vision.

"How did the game know what we look like?" Kirito asked, sounding confused.

"It had to be calibrated, to test movement capabilities. I guess it kept the data for reference." Their companion answered, who appeared to be a teenager, with slight facial hair, red hair and a hooked nose. "You said your names just now... I'm Klein. Bad timing, but at least we know each other's names." He shrugged before turning back to Kayaba Akihiko, who began speaking yet again.

"You will all most probably be wondering, 'Why.' Why am I the creator of both the Nerve Gear and SAO, Kayaba Akihiko doing something like this? Is this a sort of terrorist attack? Is he doing this to ransom us?"

He paused, then continued.

"None of these is the reason I am doing this. Not only that, but now for me, there is no longer a reason or a purpose in doing this. The reason is because... this situation itself was my purpose in doing this. To create and watch this world is the only reason I have created the Nerve Gear and SAO. And now, everything has been realized."

Then after a short break, Kayaba s voice, now emotionless, continued speaking.

"...Now I have finished the official tutorial for Sword Art Online. Players I wish you luck."

This last sentence trailed off with a faint echo as his robed body began to rise into the air, disappearing into the flat panel of the System Announcement over his head, then he vanished entirely, leaving nothing but a stunned silence in his wake.

The silence persisted for several seconds, then the crowd began to panic. Screaming, yelling, swearing, crying. Kirito grabbed Black Rock Shooter and Klein by the wrists and dragged them through the crowds and into an alley.

"I'm going to head for the next village. I want you two to join me. The spawning areas around here will be overrun with players unless we hurry now. I'm a former Beta tester, so I know the way. I can get us there safely, without any risk of being attacked by the monsters."

"I can't." Klein shook his head sadly. "I was with friends earlier, but they went back to town ahead of me while I organized my items. They'd just left when you two showed up. I can't just leave them behind." He stood up proudly. "Don't worry about me though, I was a Guild Leader in another game, I can handle myself."

Black Rock Shooter gave Kirito a look that clearly showed she was ready. Besides, unbeknownst to him, she was already at a hospital in the real world, so when he was moved there, she could protect him until he was back in the game.

"Okay." Kirito gave a nod, his voice sounding determined, but burdened. He extended his hand towards Black Rock Shooter. "Let's go, Black-san."

"Okay, Kirito...kun." She took his hand, and together they sprinted down the street, leaving Klein to wave at them in farewell. Though none of them knew it, they wouldn't be seeing each other again for an entire month.

**A/N: To be honest, I think BRS is a bit older than Kirito, about the same age as Asuna, in fact :P**

**Also, I am not very good with using honourifics (or however the hell you spell it... the -kun, -senpai, -sama, -san... those things. I forget their names! DX**

**Anyway, Reviews are appreciated! Take care, I'll be back in the next chapter!**


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